streaming

A live feed of events is something we often take for granted. For major TV or film studios, it’s not so hard to do. They’ve got the equipment and know-how. You and I, on the other hand, probably aren’t so savvy, but still might want to go live. Livestream, who have been pioneering the consumer streaming effort for years,have introduced a smaller version of their hardware called the Livestream Broadcaster Mini. It attaches to just about any camera, and streams live with the push of a button.

Consuming video on your mobile device is awesome, but sometimes you want more. Some videos just need to be seen on the bigger screen. If you happen to be on the couch, the TV might appear to be mocking you with it’s big display, which is just meant for video. Today, Vimeo is announcing they’re about to bridge that gap for iOS users. Via an update to their app, available for iPhone and iPad, Vimeo viewers will now be able to Chromecast their favorite videos!

Adult children of the 1980's rejoice. Inspector Gadget is back in March 2015! Netflix has announced their new children's programming lineup. It is adding five new shows including remakes and original content to their latest kids programming announcement. Gadget won't be back in is faded, flat color scheme as you remember him. This is a CGI Inspector Gadget series. Netflix is also creating a remake of the British spy cartoon Dangermouse. Also new to Netflix are the shows Bottersnikes and Gumbles, Super 4, and Some Assembly Required.

If you uploaded music to Play Music, but ran through the 20,000 song limit pretty quickly, we’ve got great news. Today, Google has upped the ante on Play Music’s song upload limit. Now, you can upload up to 50,000 tracks to Play Music, so music buffs (and former iTunes users) can now upload a much larger library. Best of all, this storage option costs you nothing — it’s 100% free, and doesn’t count against Drive or other Google-y cloud storage, like Gmail.

While nothing is confirmed or known beyond some strong rumors, Apple’s streaming music service is probably incoming. Though late to the game, Apple still sits on the iTunes library, which is the most attractive ‘get’ for streaming fans. Their Beats acquisition gave an early signal on Apple’s intent, as it was the most glamorous acquihire by any tech company, ever. Now, a new job posting has us scratching our heads again, as Apple is searching for an editor with strong connections to the music industry.

House of Cards is characteristic of change; most notably in how we watch television. The series gave way to binge watching, where all episodes were simply dumped online, ready for our streaming wants. Seasons one and two got Frank and Claire Underwood to the White House via various methods of chicanery, and has brought them to the brink. With season three teasers, we’ve already seen a strained relationship between the two, and the latest installment gives us a bit more insight to the growing divide in (fake) Washington D.C.

If a changelog on Github can be believed (and they typically can), VLC is about to get Chromecast support. That means the app will soon be able to stream your locally stored content to your HDMI port on your TV via Chromecast. While you can already fling locally stored content to Chromecast via apps like Plex, VLC takes it a step further by offering up nearly unlimited support for file types. The streaming app may also be returning to iOS, where the Chromecast functionality should also pop up.

Today, Google has rolled out a fairly significant update to their Play Music app for iOS. The app has been refreshingly redesigned, and will now have a Material Design interface that keeps it more closely aligned with their other recent app updates for both iOS and Android. The overall navigation isn’t changing, but the ‘currently playing’ screen is a lot cleaner and more modern. Fans of the larger screen will also love this update, as it’s the first time Play Music has a proper iPad app.

Now that Sling is out of its wider beta program and available for all, cord cutters can actually entertain the thought of going with Dish’s TV-but-also-not-TV offering for their content delivery. The over the top Internet TV service starts at $20, which gets you a dozen or so channels, and even brings in live sports content via ESPN. If you want video-on-demand via Sling TV, there are options, but a new one might be a bit more attractive to movie fans. Today, Sling TV is announcing a deal that will bring four new EPIX channels to their lineup.

Concertgoers who purchase tickets via AXS, a subsidiary of AEG, might end up getting free streaming music. In a new partnership, tickets purchased via AXS will also get users a free 30-day trial of Rdio. The month-long free subscription is for unlimited streaming, but comes with an added bonus. Depending on your ticket purchase history, Rdio may be able to customize your new profile with music you’re into. If an artist you’ve seen live adds music to Rdio, you’d even get notified.